Image Details

Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

AWAY IN A MANGER. The birth of Jesus is one of the most illustrated scenes in the history of art. After Mary gave birth to a son, she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and “laid him in a manger” (Luke 2:7). In this 16th-century painting of the Nativity by Lorenzo Lotto (located in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC), Jesus’ humble birth is observed by his mother Mary and his father Joseph. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke record that later shepherds, wise men and even angels enter into the account.